Gasoline prices have recently soared to all-time highs. With the surge in demand coming from China, India, and other parts of the developing world, prices are unlikely to come down anytime soon. Gasoline has reached more than $4.00 per gallon in much of the United States and some analysts estimate that prices could reach $7.00 per gallon or more by the end of the year. These sky-high gas prices are putting a huge strain on many people and have emphasized the continuing need for technologies that would make automobiles more fuel-efficient.
One development in this regard has been hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle. The most popular hybrid vehicles now combine an internal combustion engine power source with an electric motor power source. The latest hybrid technology is the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). The PHEV consists of a gasoline-electric hybrid whose battery pack is upgraded to a larger capacity, which can be recharged by either a battery charger hooked into the electrical grid or the gasoline engine. The car runs on battery power for the first approximately 10 to 60 miles, with the gasoline engine available for faster acceleration, etc. After the battery is nearly discharged, the car reverts to the gasoline engine to recharge the battery and/or return the car to the charging station. This hybrid design helped to ameliorate the fundamental obstacle of battery range that has made nearly all pure electric cars impractical. However, hybrid cars are expensive. It is not clear yet whether purchasing a new hybrid car will ever pay for itself in fuel savings. Consumers who own a hybrid vehicle may purchase less gas and have lower maintenance expenses than if they owned the non-hybrid counterpart, and may qualify for a federal tax credit designated for hybrid vehicle owners. However, most hybrids high sales prices, insurance costs and related expenses will offset the savings. A recent study by Edmunds found that during the first five years of ownership, a hybrid can cost as much as $5,283 more than its non-hybrid counterpart. Therefore, there exists an unfilled need for a system and method capable cost-effectively adding an electric drive component to an existing internal combustion engine powered automobile.